Silence is Golden: Book 1
by PirateWizardThief
Summary: Eleven-year-old Jefferson Black lost the ability to talk at young age and tries to cope with being unable to communicate. But being a student at Hogwarts may prove to be harder than he thought what with a professor that seems to despise him, a horrible cousin, and a mysterious sorcerer's stone. Can he make it through his first year?


**New story, new concept. Please enjoy! I'll try and make this not so dependent upon the book and the movies.**

 **I only own Jefferson and everyone else not in the Harry Potter franchise.**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 1**_

Remus Lupin looked up from his book and smiled at his charge. The four-year-old boy was scanning the book in front of him intently, his brow furrowed in concentration. A better goal than what he had been doing previously which had been watching him. The boy's almost vacant stare had become eerie and slightly worrisome. He couldn't leave the room without the boy clinging to his robe or his leg. Remus couldn't exactly fault him for that, however. The boy had had a terrible month. His mother was gone and he was left with a man whom he hardly knew. A man who had visited when he was far too young to remember.

The boy was rubbing at his eyes tiredly. "Ready for bed, Jefferson?" The child nodded. Remus smiled sadly. The boy just had it awful. He hadn't spoken since he had been found. A silencing charm gone badly had rendered him of the ability to speak. Other than that the boy was perfectly healthy. He pointed at the object in his hand and Remus nodded.

"All right. I'll read a little bit and then it's off to bed." The boy carried the book over to him and Remus smiled at him. Jefferson shared his father's features, but not his eye color. Aria had had deep blue eyes, deep as the sea, and so did Jefferson. As far as Remus could tell the boy had inherited his mother's love of books and mild temperament which balanced his inherited features from Sirius.

"Ah, _The_ _Tales of Beedle the Bard_." Lupin grinned. "I knew you'd like the pictures in that book." He picked the boy up and sat him on his lap, taking a moment to worry about the child's thinness, before opening the well-worn book. Jefferson yawned and settled closer to his guardian and Remus knew it would only be a matter of minutes before the boy was asleep.

Jefferson was dozing on his lap, his head filled with the images of Babbity Rabbity, when there came a disturbance from the fireplace. The boy jerked in his sleep and Remus stood up as a woman entered. He recognized her instantly. How could he not with the blond hair and piercing grey eyes. Jefferson woke up and jumped up from the couch, moving instantly to hide behind Lupin.

Narcissa Malfoy looked down at the dark haired child hiding behind the man's legs. There was no mistaking the boy's features. He looked like her cousin. Almost exactly. She smiled at the boy, but the child only scuttled further behind his guardian's legs, his striking blue eyes darting up at the man he was hiding behind.

"He looks like his father. Although he doesn't seem to have Sirius' attitude. _Yet_." She observed and the boy peeked out at her. "What is your name, dear?" She asked the boy. She had a soft spot for children, especially since she had one of her own at home, the same age as the four-year-old before her. The boy gave a frantic look up to his guardian and clenched a fist in the man's robes and tugged worriedly. Remus Lupin put a hand on the boy's head soothingly.

"Jefferson, Mrs. Malfoy." He told her and Narcissa narrowed his eyes at him.

"Can he not speak for himself?" She demanded.

Remus sighed, stroking Jefferson's head. "No, I'm afraid he can't." Narcissa sent the boy a sympathetic and slightly confused look.

"At all?" She questioned sharply. Remus shook his head.

"Not at all. A silencing charm gone bad."

Narcissa arched an elegant eyebrow. This was saddening and she had brief moment of anger because no one had ever mentioned _this_ little tidbit of information. Suddenly her purpose for coming here had changed. When she got home Lucius would be getting an earful if this was something he had purposely negleted to tell her.

Sirius had not bothered to tell _any_ of the Black family members that he was married, save for Andromeda Sirius' favorite cousin. And it was only by chance that her husband had an exquisite knack for finding out information at the work and she had learned of the child at all.

The boy stared at her with a mixture of emotions on his face. He didn't look as scared of her anymore which was something, but on the other hand, he didn't let go of Mr. Lupin's shabby robes either. That made her decision rather quick. She would not be held responsible for this child's upbringing. It would take her attention from her own child, Draco. And the little darling needed so much attention. No, she simply could not take the boy in and she doubted any other members of the family would fight over him. A speechless child was difficult to raise by even the most educated wizard or witch.

"I'm surprised the boy isn't more reclusive then." She murmured and Remus nodded in agreement. Sirius' wife, Aria, had been found murdered in her home not but a month ago and Lupin had been contacted and had immediately come back to London. Aria had left Jefferson to him in her will she had made shortly after her husband had been incarcerated. No one ever said if Jefferson had seen the murder or not, but from the boy's reactions to things, Remus was certain he had seen _something_. Narcissa had heard about it from her husband and found her motherly instinct was to cuddle the child to her, but Jefferson didn't look like he would allow that.

"I know." Lupin said softly and stroked the boy's hair when Jefferson clutched at his leg once more, yawning tiredly.

"Yes, well, one of the reasona I am here Mr. Lupin is that Sirius was renamed the sole heir of the Grimmauld Place."

"I thought he was disowned?"

Narcissa narrowed her eyes. "He _was_ ," She corrected snippily. "But after Regulus died, Walburga made Sirius the heir sole once again." She nodded at the boy. "Now it goes to the child." Remus' eyebrows rose. "Now, since the boy is underage and unable to legally live on his own, there is the question of whom will be living with him." Lupin stiffened. "I understand it that Sirius and his wife, made you the child's sole guardian?" Remus nodded, still stiff. "I have nothing to gain by taking the child from you, Mr. Lupin. Nor do I intend to do so. It is plain for me to see that he cares for you and seems to know you best."

Remus relaxed slightly, but he was still a bit suspicious. He had a feeling it was because of the fact the boy wouldn't speak which was why she didn't want him. Jefferson actually came out from behind the man's legs to get a better look at the woman in front of them and she got a better look at him. Remus had told her of Sirius living in a muggle community, but to dress the boy like of them? She did not like that one bit. It wasn't proper for a Black.

"Perhaps you would be willing to move into the Grimmauld Place? If only for the sole purpose of allowing his family to visit. I daresay the boy might need it. Besides," She gave Jefferson's muggle attire a wrinkled nosed look of disgust. "The child obviously needs more attention."

Remus frowned a bit. This _would_ let Jefferson meet his remaining family, if they even _wanted_ to see him, and he did agree a bit that the boy might need it, but…Jefferson was his responsibility and he had no intention of letting the child be brought up as Sirius had almost been. Although Sirius hadn't acted like the Pure-blood stuffy family, Jefferson might be influenced to act that way. The boy's clothing…well Remus hadn't had much time to even consider buying new clothes for him.

"I'll give you some time to think on it, but please do what is best for the child." The warning in her tone, suggested that she would take legal action if needed, but hoped it wasn't necessary. Remus wasn't sure he afford that and grimaced. Narcissa got down to eye level with the boy who scurried back a bit.

"Goodbye, dear. Perhaps you could meet my son soon? He's your age." Jefferson nodded slowly after thinking a moment and she smiled. "Good." Narcissa stood back up and headed for Remus' fireplace. "Good evening, Mr. Lupin." She stated in that haughty tone her namesake was known for, and disappeared in a flare of green flames.

Remus looked down at Jefferson once she was gone. "Well, Jefferson," He murmured and the boy looked up at him. "I think your life is about to change once again, but I'm not sure that it's for the better." The boy wasn't sure he understood all that and only attached himself to the man's leg.

Remus smiled softly. "It'll be all right. I promise."

* * *

 _Seven years later…_

Jefferson poked his breakfast with a melancholy expression. Today he was going to get his wand and things for school. He wasn't sure how someone like him was going to do well in a magical school. Or how he was going to make friends.

"Boy-sir must eat." Kreacher told him, picking up on the boy's nervousness. The house-elf had grown fond of him almost instantly, a feat that many of Jefferson's family members were shocked to see. The house-elf hadn't liked anyone but Regulus and Walburga.

"Kreacher's right, Jefferson." Remus said firmly, but kindly and gave the boy a smile to take the sting out of it. "You'll be hungry later if you don't." Jefferson sighed and nodded. Remus sipped his tea and read from the Daily Prophet, while keeping an eye on the eleven-year-old who was finally digging into his food. The boy certainly had an appetite like his father. He could see it made the house-elf just as happy and more than eager to refill the boy's plate when it was clean. Someone came through the Floo network as the boy was eating his second helping and Kreacher went to see about it.

"Right this way, Mistress Narcissa." Kreacher murmured and Lupin sighed, setting down his paper. His dealings with the Malfoy's had been… _odd_. Yes, he supposed that was the right _polite_ word. While Lucius made himself scarce most times, thankfully, his wife had taken it upon herself to see that Jefferson got everything she deemed a descendant of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black should have. Her son…was about as pleasant as his father. While Draco had not shown outright hostility to Jefferson, Remus had rarely seen the children in the same room together. Unless the very awkward family dinners were counted. Being Jefferson's sole guardian made him involved in _everything_ the Black's did. Remus was positive that Jefferson would have much rather lived away from the poking and prodding of his rather unpleasant relatives.

It wasn't that he disliked all of them, Andromeda's family were pleasant (when he got to see them and they were allowed to be around the others), but he despised the way the rest acted around the boy. As if Jefferson didn't already have a hard time communicating. They acted as if the boy had no say so in what he was doing. If the boy could talk, he doubted they would listen to that either.

"Mr. Lupin." Narcissa Malfoy inclined her head politely and Remus gave her a nod. She went over to Jefferson and gave him a smile. "Good morning, Jefferson. Are you ready to get your wand?" Jefferson smiled at her politely, but his smile never quite reached his eyes. He wasn't about to tell her the truth, especially if she mentioned it to Draco. Instead he only nodded. His Uncle Moony arched an eyebrow, but remained thankfully silent.

Jefferson watched Narcissa go to sit at the other side of the table, silently commanding a cup of steaming tea from Kreacher. He had never fully decided if he liked her or not. She, like the majority of his whacked out family, had her good days and bad days. He flat out hated Lucius and avoided him when he could. There was something about the man that chilled him. Draco, like Narcissa, he was on the fence about. It hadn't always been that way. In fact that two of them used to get along quite well but as their school age approached, things started to become strained between them. He supposed he was partially to blame.

Being unable to speak made it difficult for others to know if he were really listening or not. Or if he were even understanding what they said. But he knew how to read and write and he even knew sign language which was how he communicated when it was necessary. Draco was a spoiled only child, not used to sharing or having to watch out for others. Jefferson supposed that he was becoming bored with having one-sided conversations and always having to check up on him. He knew that Draco wouldn't want to put up with him when they went to school. And quite honestly, Jefferson would be glad not to have to be checked in on.

"Draco is excited too." Narcissa murmured and Jefferson nodded, trying to look happy for her sake. Remus could see the strained smile and made the mental note to talk to the boy about that later.

"Yes, well…" Remus began and she turned her cool gaze to him. "I appreciate that you are taking Jefferson with you."

"Of course. Family is family after all." She replied, but neither one believed that. Jefferson rolled his eyes at the house-elf who shook his head. He saw nothing wrong with his master and was quick to defend him if anyone questioned it. Mainly because his former mistress, Walburga Black, had taken one look at the boy and deemed him worthy of the Black family house. And no one dared argue with her, even if she now was just a mere painting on the wall.

"Eat your toast, dear." Narcissa told Jefferson. "Then we'll be on our way." The boy nodded and stuffed the bread into his mouth when his cousin wasn't looking.

" _Moony."_ He wrote on piece of parchment. _"Can't_ _you_ _take me to get my wand?"_ Jefferson's penmanship was superb as per usual, of course it had to be otherwise no one would understand him. The boy had learned that lesson a while back. Remus smiled just the slightest and wrote back.

" _She offered to take you and I have something to attend to."_

Jefferson scowled at his empty plate and Remus almost chuckled. He looked like Sirius when he pouted like that.

Narcissa either decided to ignore the parchment being shoved back and forth between the two males or was just unware for she never commented on it. "Are you finished?" She asked of the boy, setting down her teacup and Jefferson nodded. "Good." She gave a curt nod to Remus. "Good day, Mr. Lupin. I'll have the boy home by seven. He is invited to dinner at Cassiopeia's home." Jefferson shot his guardian a wide-eyed terrified look and Lupin smiled tightly in a "better you than me" way.

"Hm. Well, I'm sure he'll enjoy seeing his family."

The boy rolled his eyes at his "uncle" Moony and resisted the urge to stick his tongue out.

"Come along, Jefferson." She said and strode towards the fireplace. Jefferson sent his guardian one last "I'd rather eat a vomit flavored Bertie's Bott's Every Flavor Bean than go with her" look and then got into the fireplace alongside her. This was one of the many things that Jefferson had a hard time with, but he honestly would have rather walked to Diagon Alley even if he could speak. It was a fair distance from the Grimmauld Place, but Jefferson enjoyed the fresh air and he didn't find Muggles to be as awful as his kin made them out to be.

"Diagon Alley." Narcissa said clearly and tossed down the Floo Powder and they disappeared in a cloud of green flames.

* * *

Jefferson stepped out of the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron and dusted himself off before following his cousin towards the back of tavern. He waved to Tom the Innkeeper who greeted him as he passed and hurried after Narcissa who was not the least bit amused by his friendship with the lowly man. There awaiting him out the backdoor was none other than his dreaded cousin Draco and his uppity father.

Lucius arched a perfect brow at the boy who met his gaze coolly. He had never approved of the fascination his wife had with the Black child. As far as he remembered, Narcissa had never liked her cousin so why take an interest in the man's son? The boy was dressed as a muggle for one thing. He could see why his wife had a fit over the boy's attire every time she visited, but as he could see from the defiant look on the child's face there was no telling him what to wear. Lucius turned his gaze to his wife to see her going to tap the bricks.

Draco and Jefferson eyed one another and then the blond boy saw something move in other boy's shirt. A pair of amber colored eyes peered at him from Jefferson's collar and Draco took a step back warily, bumping into his father. The man turned to look at them, ready to tell his son to stand upright when he saw what had scared Draco.

"What in Merlin's name is that?" Lucius asked and frowned when a little horned head poked up from the boy's shirt. Jefferson grinned and stroked the ferret's head with two of his fingers. The animal purred like a cat and climbed all the way out of the clothing to lay across the back of his neck. "Is that your _pet_?" He sneered at the child and Jefferson smirked, nodding once.

Narcissa turned to see what the commotion was about and screamed.

* * *

Jefferson rolled his eyes when Draco pointed at the racing brooms in the Quality Quidditch Supplies' shop. He knew that no matter how he begged and whined he wasn't getting one. His mother called them dangerous and his father pointed out that he wouldn't be able to make the school team anyhow. They didn't allow them to even have brooms their first year. His eyes wandered away from the store as he waited to be told he could go off on his own. Narcissa always went off to do her own shopping, leaving the boys with Lucius and Jefferson was hoping that would be soon. Every time he gone with them, Lucius let him go about the shops by himself and he rather liked to do so. He was friends with all of the store owners having been in each store many times with Lupin. The boy had a slight suspicion that if he disappeared, the man would be extremely happy.

The smells and sounds of the wizarding shops filled the air as they walked down the cobblestoned streets. Jefferson loved being there. It was the best place in the world to him.

"Mummy is going to the Apothecary's, darling." Narcissa told her son in what Jefferson often thought was her sickly sweet tone. "Mind your father." Draco smirked.

"Yes, mum." He said, giving her his best innocent look as she cooed over him and kissed his head. Jefferson wanted to smash his face into the nearby wall.

Narcissa looked at Jefferson, still a bit irked that his pet had frightened her. "You be on your best behavior." He nodded at her, looking very sorry and her face softened a bit. Jefferson didn't have to look to know that the father and son team were rolling their eyes at him.

As soon as she was lost in the crowd of wizards and witches, Lucius turned to face him. "Well go and get your things, Black, and do try to be back quickly. I wouldn't want to have to tell Narcissa, we had accident now would we?" Jefferson resisted the urge to kick the man in the shin and only rolled his eyes at the Malfoy patriarch's back. Draco stuck his tongue out at him and Jefferson "accidently" stuck his foot out when he walked by. Draco tripped and almost collided into a nearby broom barrel. Jefferson ran off before Lucius could turn around to see what was keeping his son.

* * *

Jefferson walked down the street, listening to the sound of people chattering all around him. He did wish that he could speak out like everyone else, but at the same time, he didn't mind it. A ruckus came from behind him and he turned around.

"Ronald, where is your sister?" A round, red-headed woman asked, turning around in a circle. Jefferson had never seen so many red-headed children before. There were five of them. "Ginny! Ginny?! Oh, there you are dear." She tsked and pulled a small girl from the back. The only girl, Ginny, looked at Jefferson curiously before being swept away into the crowd of redheads. Jefferson watched as the woman's money pouch fell from the pocket of her robe and he hurried to get it before some thief spotted it. He picked it up, noticing its ragged appearance. They definitely needed this. The boy followed after the large family. This was one time he wished he could yell out. The family disappeared into a crowd and Jefferson soon lost sight of them. Not to be deterred, he kept going, hoping to spot them someplace.

As luck would have it, he found them heading into one of his favorite shops. Flourish and Blotts. Grinning, he ran across the street and into the bookshop. The smell of dusty and well-worn books filled the air and Jefferson smiled. He glanced around for the family and frowned when he couldn't find a safe path to look for them. Dozens of wizards and witches were walking about, gathering arm loads of books.

Jefferson sighed and decided he might as well gather his own books and hope that they were still in there when he found them all. Having been in the shop numerous times and having memorized his book list for his first year, he made his way towards the front desk, arms laden with books.

"Hello, Jefferson." Mr. Blotts greeted the young boy. "Got your letter did you?" The boy nodded and the man smiled. "Just set them up here and I'll keep an eye on them for you. I know you want to see our new arrivals." The boy grinned and nodded in thanks before handing the man his books and hurrying off to the back, where all the newer books were kept. As he passed, he heard murmurings.

"Oh dear…"

"Mum, do we have to go to Gringotts again?"

"Ginny, dear don't cry. I can't find my pouch…"

"Mum! Fred and George are at it again."

"Shut it, Ronald."

"You shut it, Percy."

Jefferson peered around the corner and smiled. Finally he found them. Now that he was closer he could see them better. There was a set of identical twin boys, both of them pretty tall, a tall, gangly boy with a large nose he guessed to be around his age, an older boy with glasses who was browsing the shelves behind the group, and a girl that looked about a year or so younger than him. He hesitated as he moved closer. Would they think he stole it? Or stole money from it? He heaved a sigh and decided to go with it. He tapped the woman on the arm.

"Not now, Fred, George." She said dismissively.

"Wasn't us, mum." One of the twins said and the other smirked.

"Yeah, it was him."

The woman turned. "Oh, hello." She smiled at him and Jefferson held up her pouch. "My money pouch, oh thank you." She smiled took it from him. "I was so worried I wouldn't be able to pay for their books. They are expensive you know." Jefferson nodded. He noticed the children staring at him and swallowed nervously. "Thank you so much."

"Better make sure he didn't take anything." One of the twins murmured and Jefferson shook his head rapidly.

"George Weasley!" The woman smacked him on the arm. "Mind your manners."

"I was only joking, woman." He grumbled and rubbed at his arm. The woman turned back to Jefferson and smiled.

"My name is Mrs. Weasley. What's your name, dear?"

Jefferson shifted. Not many knew sign language so he dug into his pocket and pulled out a card that he had that told his name and a few other things about him. Equivalent to a muggle id card.

"What's that?" Ron asked rudely and Mrs. Weasley hushed him. Jefferson handed her the card and each Weasley craned their necks to read it, making Jefferson flush from embarrassment.

"It's nice to meet you, Jefferson." She said to him.

"So you can't talk?" One of the twins asked and Jefferson shook his head. "Well, I'm Fred and this is George." The other twin waved. "This is our brother Ron and our little sister Ginny." Jefferson smiled at each of them and they smiled back. "And that's Percy." Fred pointed at the bespectacled boy who nodded at him once.

"Thank you again, Jefferson dear." Mrs. Weasley told him and patted his cheek. Jefferson flushed at her motherly attention. "Are you getting your first year books?" He nodded and she pointed at Ron. "It's Ron's first year too." The gangly, freckled boy smiled grimly. He was nervous too it seemed.

"Maybe I'll see you." Ron told him and Jefferson nodded. Maybe making friends wouldn't be so hard.

* * *

He got his books and waved goodbye to the Weasleys before setting off across the street. A pop came from nearby and Jefferson turned with a smile.

"Would Boy-sir like his books taken home?" Kreacher asked and the boy nodded. It never failed to amaze him how the house-elf knew he needed him. The house-elf held his arms out and once the books were safely there, popped back out of sight.

Jefferson smiled and then turned to head towards the wand shop. It was time to get his wand.

* * *

 _Review?_


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